NASD and NICE Announce Free Web-Based Investment Teaching Guide

New York, NY-- The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) and the nonprofit National Institute for Consumer Education at Eastern Michigan University (NICE) today announced that they have produced a first of its kind Web-based teaching guide entitled The Basics of Investing: A Guide for Educators. This educational tool is designed for local schoolchildren and teachers. Students and teachers in New York City will be among the first in the nation to benefit from this free service.

The six-unit "Basics of Investing" curriculum will include instruction on how to design a personal financial plan; how financial markets work; how to select among various savings and investment options; the best ways to evaluate investment-related information; how to spot and avoid swindles; and the importance of ethical dealings in buyer and seller relationships. The Guide includes anecdotal illustrations, worksheets, overheads and quizzes. Links to a wide range of other Web-based investment education sites are provided.

"We’re using the latest technology to make it as easy as possible for teachers to arm their students with accurate and objective information about financial planning, saving and investing," said Michael D. Jones, Vice President of the NASD’s Office of Individual Investor Services. "We applaud local educators and school administrators for their tremendous excitement about this important project. Within the next year or so, we hope to have the NASD/NICE teaching guide in use in classrooms all across America."

NICE Director Rosella Bannister observed that, "Personal finance education has today become increasingly important in school as students face greater responsibility for saving, investing and managing their money to avoid financial problems as adults."

This curriculum will be offered to students in a variety of ways, according to Susan Ewen, Principal of the New York High School of Economics & Finance. "We look forward to using the NASD curriculum in several different courses as a way to engage students by connecting academic subjects to the real world. It provides an exciting way to help youngsters understand that economics is everybody’s business," she said. Last week, teachers at the school received a half-day professional development workshop on the teaching tools in the Guide.

While an earlier version of "The Basics of Investing" has been tested with educators over the last few years, the NASD/NICE collaboration marks the first time that a comprehensive investor education teacher’s guide has been delivered on the World Wide Web. Though the teaching guide was designed primarily for use in high school, it is also a great resource for adults who want to learn more about the fundamentals of investing. The NASD Office of Individual Investor Services took the lead in working with NICE to update the teaching guide and to convert it to the electronic version now available on the Web.

The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) is the largest securities industry self-regulatory organization in the United States. Through its subsidiaries, NASD Regulation, Inc. and The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., the NASD develops rules and regulations, provides a dispute resolution forum, conducts regulatory reviews of members’ activities, and designs, operates and regulates securities markets all for the benefit and protection of the investor. The NASD’s Office of Individual Investor Services was created in August 1996, to demonstrate strongly and forcefully the NASD’s long-standing commitment to the interests of individual investors. Through its partnership with NASD RegulationSM and Nasdaq, this Office works diligently to fulfill its dual mission of being an advocate and voice for investors on NASD policy matters and helping to advance investor education and protection.

The National Institute for Consumer Education (NICE) works to empower people to become informed consumers, reasoned decision makers and participating citizens in the global marketplace. NICE conducts courses, workshops and conferences for educators; publishes teaching guides and resource lists in personal finance; and maintains a clearinghouse of materials in consumer, economic, and personal finance education.